Active discussions

Help protect children from gaming harms.

Take our survey

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

Original poster

TTC for 18+ months and feeling low!

537 replies

Natty2 · 02/09/2023 14:42

I'm fairly new at this forum and decided to join after TTC since the start of 2022
We discovered earlier this year that my DH morphology was low, although all other results were normal. He implemented life style changes straight away, and even went through a varicocele embolisation a few months ago, so we're waiting to see if that's helped.

Having gone through the rest of the year undergoing tests everything seems normal, so the NHS are not letting us even get on the IVF list until 2024. It's been such a long, physical and emotional journey and there seems to be no end in sight.

Anyone else going through similar things? I feel like I live life in 2 week cycles and it's so hard to try and not think about it all!!
Any tips?!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
12
Emz09 · 29/01/2024 15:40

Hi, I hope you don't mind me jumping onto this thread. This is the first thread I have found that I can relate to. I just wanted to say it given me some hope and comfort. AF has just arrived so we now move onto cycle 19 and just feeling angry and frustrated today.

Our first NHS fertility appointment is next month and I'm just wondering if any of you would be kind enough to shed some light on what to expect on the first appointment please? Thank you in advance.

Wishing you all the best with your journey's <3

CatCaretaker · 27/01/2024 13:51

@Natty2 fingers crossed for those lucky 3, the wait must be awful.

Foreverhopeful92 · 27/01/2024 12:04

@Natty2 sorry to hear this! :( Hoping you have some good news in 5 days time! Keeping my fingers crossed for you ❤️

missmoosh · 27/01/2024 11:34

Oh no, I'm so sorry! Crossing everything for you that those 3 make it to day 5 for you. Have they given any indication as to what they think has gone wrong? Or just bad luck? Really hope you don't have to go through it all again

Original poster
Natty2 · 27/01/2024 10:42

Seem to be getting more disappointment 😞
Of our 14 eggs collected (which we thought was great) only 5 were mature and only 3 fertilised.
Have to prepare ourselves that we may have nothing to freeze in 5 days time 💔
Hope that they are strong, but think we need to prepare ourselves for doing this all again 😞

OP posts:
missmoosh · 26/01/2024 18:35

@Natty2 hope your collection went well today 😊

LucyLoopyLu · 25/01/2024 21:43

@Natty2 oh no, sorry about the disappointment and the waiting. That's got to hit hard, especially when you're in the weeds of it now and just want to see the progress. Hoping you get some great eggs and get plenty of good embryos frozen. Will keep my fingers crossed for you. All you can do is just focus on one day at a time for now and look after yourself.

Hope egg collection goes ok, good luck and make sure you get some rest afterwards x

missmoosh · 25/01/2024 19:14

@Natty2 do let us know how tomorrow goes for you. Praying you have an excellent fertilisation rate!
Oh God I hope it's not too horrific doing a fet, although I'm sure I read before they are normally more successful than fresh transfers?
Sending big hugs to you both, you got this!

Original poster
Natty2 · 25/01/2024 15:15

@missmoosh still 22 but at least 13 of those are below 10 though so unlikely to be mature.
The rest are between 11-25. No idea what to expect tomorrow, and then we'll get an update on sat as to how many are fertilised 🤞
Just hoping we at least get a good few to day 5 blastocyst so they can be frozen.
Have no idea about trying in the meantime, I need to do more research on the FET cycle but think I'll be back on meds for at least a month including more injections 🙃 hoping they will go through these next steps within the coming weeks.
Just feeling quite deflated, particularly as we were so excited this morning about it all coming together. Feels never ending at the moment!

OP posts:
missmoosh · 25/01/2024 14:44

@Natty2 exciting news about collection, how many follicles do you have now?
I'm so sorry to hear that it's got to be a freeze all, that's such a brutal wait. I don't think anything I can say will make you feel better, but just know they know what they are doing and want you to have success, even if that means waiting. Do you think you will continue trying whilst you wait?

Original poster
Natty2 · 25/01/2024 14:11

@missmoosh @LucyLoopyLu
Hope you are both well,
Update from me, I had a trigger shot last night and ready for egg collection tomorrow morning. However, just got some disappointing news that my blood tests yesterday picked up on high levels of progesterone which means they have to do a freeze all.
Looks like I won't be able to have transfer until at least April (they said 3rd bleed) so so gutted 😞

OP posts:
LucyLoopyLu · 22/01/2024 21:33

@DesteBso sorry, I tagged you by mistake and then pressed "post" at the same time 🫣 sorry for the notification

@Natty2 22 woop woop! Come on follicles. Really rooting for you. Hope the side effects are not too hard on you. Thanks for the offer of advice, it's so nice of you. I don't know what advice I need at the moment. Feeling very overwhelmed by it all the past couple of days but I think it's because I'm getting my period. Those hormones eh

Original poster
Natty2 · 22/01/2024 15:52

@missmoosh not yet, think it will really just depend on the day! Hoping the big ones don't get much bigger as they can be over mature, but also hope the other ones catch up, so we'll see!
Felt ok otherwise thanks, felt abit sick earlier on last week but think I was getting used to the drugs, been feeling fine otherwise and the injections really don't seem to phase me anymore which is crazy how quickly you get used to it!

Hope you are doing ok!

OP posts:
missmoosh · 22/01/2024 13:21

@Natty2 oh that's exciting! Have they said how many they reckon they will be able to collect? Not long now until collection then!
Oh bless you, not long left of feeling heavy an uncomfortable hopefully, how have you felt other than that during it all?

Original poster
Natty2 · 22/01/2024 12:37

@missmoosh @LucyLoopyLu
hi both!
Just had scan 3, have gone up from 14 to 22 follicles over the weekend, although the new ones are quite small!
I've got 2 measuring 21mm already though and about 6 between 12-16mm, so hopefully they will get closer to 18mm by Wednesday and then I should be ready for egg retrieval on Friday 🤞🤞
Explains why I was feeling so "heavy" and uncomfortable over the weekend!
@LucyLoopyLu happy to give any advice before you start your ivf!

OP posts:
LucyLoopyLu · 21/01/2024 22:43

@missmoosh keeping my fingers crossed for you

@Natty2 hope you're doing ok x

missmoosh · 21/01/2024 18:33

@LucyLoopyLu hahaa damn! They say I will get a letter in about 2 weeks if it's low risk and a call after about a week if not. Had it on Wednesday so praying I have no call this week!!

LucyLoopyLu · 21/01/2024 17:09

@missmoosh haha, you could have styled that out and I would never have known! When do you expect to get the results?

missmoosh · 21/01/2024 16:16

@Natty2 how have your last couple of scans been since the med change?

@LucyLoopyLu thank you! I keep saying nipt test, but it's just the NT combined screening 😂

LucyLoopyLu · 17/01/2024 20:23

@missmoosh fantastic news on the scan, fingers crossed for you on the NIPT. Really hope you start feeling better soon ❣️

@Natty2 thanks for updating us. I'm trying to read a bit more about IVF now so it's useful to hear how it's going for you and how things are progressing. The thicker needle just made me shudder. Well done you, and go on those 14 follicles! Really hoping they will be 10+ brilliant quality eggs for you x

Original poster
Natty2 · 17/01/2024 16:30

Yes, hoping that the ones I have will mature to the right size and are good quality! 🤞🤞
It's definitely going to be an interesting journey!

OP posts:
missmoosh · 17/01/2024 15:56

@Natty2 oh that's a really good number I think! It only takes that one special one!! Hopefully the increased dose will help them along as well! I remember before I was due to start reading something about the number of eggs. A lot of the time people who get tons, the egg quality isn't actually great. So I think the number you have is ideal!

Original poster
Natty2 · 17/01/2024 15:00

@missmoosh woops! 14! Which I don't think is too bad, but on my baseline scan in the summer I had 29 and larger ones... so we'll see. I've had the message to increase the dose by more than double so will see how Friday goes!
You poor thing, I've been feeling nauseous on the meds past couple of days, so I tread to think how you are feeling at the moment!

All worth it 🌟

OP posts:
missmoosh · 17/01/2024 14:51

@Natty2 thank you! The scan measurement was in normal range, so I'm hoping that's a good sign for the bloods as well! Unfortunately sickness is going strong still lol

You forgot to put the number of follicles 😂 hopefully they will catch up quickly and I'm sure they are used to making slight adjustments as all our bodies are going to react differently! Oh bless you, you got this stay strong!

Original poster
Natty2 · 17/01/2024 13:37

@missmoosh so pleased to hear your scan went well! Hopefully you've not been feeling too rough with your sickness this week? Fingers crossed for the test results 🤞

yes had it this morning thanks!
I have around follicles growing, but most are quite small, and she said she would have expected a little more for my age and AMH levels, so the docs will be reviewing this afternoon and they may up my dosage of meds
But it’s also still early days, so hopefully the small ones continue to keep growing to the size it needs to be! Just taking every day as it comes! Next scan on Friday and will be every other day now until I'm ready for egg retrieval.
I had my first morning injection today too, which was abit of a thicker needle and harder to go in! 😫

OP posts: